Fire-escape.



T. SCHULZ.

PIRE ESCAPE.

APPLIUATION FILED rm. 21, 190e.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

3 IHHH (Simili wlTNEssEs: J)

AT RNEY THEODOR SCHULZ, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

Application filed February 21,` 1908. Serial No. 416,967.

To all ati/rom it muy concern:

Be it known that I, THuonon SCHULZ, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful lmln'ovements in Fire-Escapes; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the inA vention, such as will enable others skilled in the art towhich it appertains to malte and use thc same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, and to figures of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a lire-escape, and is designed to provide aflexible ladder or rope or any other means of descent, and thearrangement of parts is such that the same lire-escape can be used onany side of a building.

The particular arrangement of ap aratus consists in the flexible ladderor simi ar element being installed on the roof of a building, andarranged so that it can be let down from any side of thc building andprovide means for assembling the flexible ladder, or its equivalent,when it is not in use so that it docs not depend from the building.

The invention further consists of a reel on which the ladder is coiled,and the reel is arranged to be moved preferably by rotation so that ifone side of the building is so filled with flame or smoke that descenton that side dangerous, the reel can be turned and the ladder let downon any of the four or more sides of the building, whereby descent fromall Hoors on the ladder is insured, and on the side on which descent` issafest.

The invention is illustrated in the accom panying drawing, in which-Figure 1-is a front elevation of a building with the tire-escape inposition to allow the occupants to escape. Fig. 2 is a section of thereel and the ladder, and Fig. 3 is a top View of the same. in

The invention is installed on any buildin and is arranged on the roof 11therco and a spindle or stem 12 is set up on the roof extending throughand referably passing through the beams 13 which are arranged in somebuildings immediately beneath the roof and form a part thereof, thespindlehbeing secured by the nuts 14 which screw .n the end thereof. Thespindle is braced part vyay up by the brace 15 which has the legs 1Gfastened to the roof. The brace also acts to support the frame whichholds up the reel on which the fire-escape is coiled. This frame rotateson the stein 12 and consists of a crossarn'i 1T which rotates on thespindle and has the parallel projecting arms 18, and between these arms1S is journaled thc rcel 19 which is free to rotate, under normalconditions, and can be manually manipulated by means of a handle 20secured to the spindle Q1 of the reel.

Secured to the spindle Q1 and coiled on the reel is the flexible ladder2Q which can either be arranged as shown with the rangs 23, or it canconsist of a rope down which the occu pants of the house may slide. Theside frames 19 act to hold the ladder or other exible escaping means inalinement, when it is coiled up, by the rotation of the handle Q0.

A brace 24 extends from the cross-bar 25, on the outer end of the arms18, and is secured preferably by the nuts 25 to the top of the spindleor stein 12, whereby the reel is steadied and the whole structure ismade more solid.

One of the main objections heretofore made to fire-escapes, which havean escaping means adapted to unrccl, has been that the persons escapingare excited and sometimes in a panic and arc apt to load up thefire-escape while it is descending, and in consequence they descendnearly as hastily as if no escape were used, resulting sometimes inserious injury. Complicated brakes have been placed in the reel toovercome this, but when subjected to the atmosphere and not lubricated,they are found wanting when called on. They also have the disadvantageof being expensive. ever, by the location and design of the fireescapcthe descent is not apt to be swift enough to cause injury to persons whomount the escape before it is completely unreeled. This is due to thefriction on the edge of the roof, since the reel being approximatelycentral, causes the vertical depending portion to forni an acute anglewith approximately horizontal portion extending from the edge of theroof to the reel. To cause this acute angle the reel is mounted close tothe roof. In the case of a tall building, the friction can be furtherincreased by Winding the reel as in Fig. 1, so that the flexibleescaping means is fixed around the bar 25, causing another bend in theladder or its equivalent.

In my structure howi l do not Wish to be limited to the exact lconstruction for supporting the reel, since slight changes might benecessary on account of the character and location ot the building, orto suit individual tastes as to the best forni of structure. lt will beevi dent that when this rotating reel arranged in a rotatable frame isinstalled on the root' of a building, that the ladder or its equivalentcan bc uncoiled and let down on any side of the building, the occupantsof course picking out that side on which the llames have made the leastprogress, or which is least filled with smoke.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim is:-

l. A tire escape, comprising in combination, a vertically disposed stemreduced at its lower end to forni a shoulder, said shoulder adapted torest upon the roof of a building, said reduced end passing through saidroof and being further adapted to be secured to a beam thereunder, abrace compris ing a plate perforated to receive said vertically disposedstem, depending legs carried by said plate, said legs adapt-ed to restupon and be secured to the roof of said building, a cross arm havingbearings upon said vertically disposed stem and further resting upon theupper face of said plate, a pair of parallel projecting arms carried bysaid cross arm, a bar connecting the free ends of said arms, a` thirdarm secured at the termination l of the upper portion of said verticallydisposed stein, said third arm being curved, the t'ree end of said thirdarin being secured to .said bar, a reel mounted between lsaid parallelprojecting arms, and flexible escaping means arried by said reel.

2. In a tire escape, a stein adapted for vertical disposition, means tosupport said stein from the root' otl a building, a cross arm mounted onthe stem, a pair of parallel horizontally arranged arms carried by thecross arm, a` bar connecting the free ends of the parallel arms, a reelmounted between the parallel arms, and a` third arm supported at one endfrom the top end of the stein and having its opposite end connected tosaid bar which connects the parallel arms.

ln a tire escape, a vertical stem adapted to be passed through the rootof a building and having a shoulder thereon adapted. to seat on theroof, means to secure the inner end oi the stem rigidly to the building,a brace secured to the roof and to the stem, and a rotatable reelcarrier on the stem sustained against downward movement by engagementwith the brace.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing, l have hereunto set my handthis 19th day of February 1908.

THEODOR SCHULZ. Witnesses VWM. H. CAMFIELD, E. A. PELL.

